Free Trade Winds (Choc Lit) by Christina Courtenay

so much to learn. To the captain’s surprise, Killian was constantly at his side, asking questions, watching and learning. ‘You want to be a sailor, then, Mr Kinross?’ he asked.
    Killian smiled. ‘Not exactly, but I like to do things thoroughly. If I’m to own a ship, I want to know how it works, where everything is, what it’s called. I think knowledge is power.’
    Captain Craig nodded. ‘Very wise. That Mr McGrath what owned the ship before you never set foot on it. Just arranged for the cargo and told me what to bring back instead. I’m very pleased to be working for you, Mr Kinross. Makes a nice change.’
    ‘Not just for me, Captain, but with me,’ Killian replied.
    ‘How so?’
    ‘If you continue to help me find the best goods to trade with between the two countries, I’ll give you a share of the profits.’
    The captain’s eyes widened as he took in Killian’s meaning. ‘No! Truly?’
    Killian nodded. He’d considered this carefully and thought it would be in his best interest. Hopefully, with such an incentive, the man would work harder and they would both gain. He didn’t want a surly employee. What he needed was someone he could trust.
    ‘Well, I don’t know what to say.’ Captain Craig still looked dumbfounded. ‘I mean, I shall certainly do my best. Not that I wouldn’t have done otherwise, of course, but ... really, Mr Kinross, you’ve stunned me.’
    Killian smiled. ‘The arrangement will be to both our advantage, I think. I hope we can work well together.’
    ‘Absolutely.’ Craig beamed at him. ‘You won’t regret this, I promise you.’
    With the captain’s help, Killian had already managed to buy a high-quality cargo to take with them. Mostly they bought salt, which was much sought after in Scandinavia, but also superior cloth, wheat, butter, coal and some luxury goods from the Americas, such as tobacco. He paid for it with the money he had won at gambling. The captain assured him these were the kind of goods that would sell well in Sweden and Killian had no reason not to believe him. Any profit would be good, the more the better. It was a start, and he knew that iron ore, copper, wood, tar and pitch were good things to ship back to Scotland from Sweden. He planned to send the captain back and forth while he was there, making as much money as he could.
    He had well and truly embarked on his new career and he intended to make a success of it.
    Sailing in through the archipelago towards Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden, Killian was amazed what a small town it was when he finally set eyes on it. He had expected something larger, but compared to Edinburgh it was a mere village. Situated at the mouth of the river Göta, it seemed to be all on flat, even ground. There were just a few small hills sticking up, the largest on the right hand side.
    ‘The town was built by Dutchmen,’ Captain Craig informed him. ‘This place was nothing but a quagmire before apparently, so the Swedes knew the Dutch were the best people to help them with the construction. They had enough practice with their own wet landscapes, didn’t they.’
    Killian had never been to Holland, but had heard of the way the Dutch dammed water and built beautiful cities criss-crossed by canals. ‘So it’s like a miniature Amsterdam then, is it?’
    ‘You could say that. There’s certainly a canal or two, as you’ll soon see. It’s fortified though, with two redoubts they call The Lion and The Crown , as well as all those walls with sharp angles sticking out in several places and a moat all around.’
    The Lady Madeleine had to drop anchor some way outside the city ramparts, and everyone was brought to shore by stevedores. They had the exclusive rights to ferrying people around on the canals and to and from the large ships.
    ‘They’ll also see about transporting the cargo,’ the captain assured Killian. ‘It’ll be taken onto dry land as soon as we’ve found someone who wants to buy it, seeing as you